ILGWU Legal Department Records, 1958-1980
Collection Number: 5780/107
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
ILGWU Legal Department Records, 1958-1980
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/107
Abstract:
The collection contains files relating to the ILGWU's organizing and legal activities
surrounding the Kellwood Company at several of its divisions throughout the southern
United States through court documents, correspondence, clippings, organizing leaflets,
and accounts and interviews of the strike.
Creator:
Siems, Frederick Rolle
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). Education Dept.
Quanitities:
5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor
unions in the United States founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing
about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States. It was one of the
first U.S. Unions to have a membership consisting of mostly females, and it played
a key role in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union is generally referred
to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG". The ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size,
and political influence to become one of the most powerful forces in American organized
labor by mid-century. Representing workers in the women's garment industry, the ILGWU
worked to improve working and living conditions of its members through collective
bargaining agreements, training programs, health care facilities, cooperative housing,
educational opportunities, and other efforts. The ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated
Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form the Union of Needle trades, Industrial
and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. The two
unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented only 250,000 workers between them, down
from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000 in 1969.
From very early on in its existence, the ILGWU had need for legal counsel, and this
was handled in the union's main offices in cooperation with hired attorneys. As the
union grew and especially after the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, the union
found cause to establish a Legal Department. The department provided general legal
counsel to the union and its affiliates, worked to develop collective bargaining agreement
terms, and represented the ILGWU in litigation and arbitration. After the formation
of the Master Agreements Department in 1965, the responsibilities for developing CBA
terms shifted to the new department.
The Legal Department records do not comprehensively document the ILGWU legal activities,
instead focusing on specific cases or series of cases.
Two ILGWU cases are documented in the Legal Department records. The first case involved
the Kellwood Corporation, and the second involved the Donnelly Garment Company. The
records relating to the Kellwood case (5780/107, 5780/107 AV, 5780/107 P) include
court documents, correspondence and memoranda, surveys of strikers, organizing leaflets
and newsletters (from both the union and the company), Steve Honeyman's draft accounts
of the strike, audio and transcripts of Honeyman's interviews with ILGWU members and
staff, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other printed material. The Donnelly
Garment Company's case against the ILGWU is documented primarily through transcripts
of the case, legal briefs, and related court documents.
Records on series of cases are the most general and extensive of the Legal Department
records. They include records on ILGWU cases in the U.S. courts (5780/081), records
documenting cases before the National War Labor Board (5780/085), and records relating
to a wide variety contract negotiations, arbitration proceedings, and courts cases
(5780/063).
Researchers may find complementary material in the other parts of the ILGWU records,
such as the papers of the international leadership, especially the papers of ILGWU
presidents (Series IV); the records of local unions in instances where these affiliates
were involved in litigation or arbitration (Series III); and the collective bargaining
agreements (Series VI). Related collections at the Kheel Center include decisions
of the Coat and Suit Industry's Impartial Chairman (6036/015) and decisions of the
Dress Industry's Impartial Chairman (6036/017).
In the Legal Department records (5780/107), the collection contains files relating
to the ILGWU's organizing and legal activities surrounding the Kellwood Company at
several of its divisions throughout the southern United States (Little Rock, Arkansas;
Lonoke, Arkansas; Brownsville, Kentucky; and Greenfield, Tennessee). In addition to
court documents and correspondence and memoranda relating to the ILGWU's legal cases,
these records contain documentation of the Kellwood strike, including surveys of strikers,
organizing leaflets and newsletters (from both the union and the company), and newspaper
clippings on the strike. Also includes Steve Honeyman's draft accounts of the strike,
transcripts of his interviews with ILGWU members and staff who participated in the
strike, as well as working materials from the negotiations between the ILGWU and Kellwood.
Organizing leaflets from other shops in Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas are
also included.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
ILGWU Legal Department Records #5780/107. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records 5780/107 AV: ILGWU Legal Department Audio-Visual Materials 5780/107 P: ILGWU Legal Department Photographs 5780/081: ILGWU Legal Department Records 5780/063: ILGWU Legal Department Records 5780/162: ILGWU Legal Department Donnelly Garment Company v. ILGWU Records
Names:
Siems, Frederick Rolle, 1915-
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Legal Dept.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry--United States
Clothing workers--Labor unions--United States.
Clothing workers--United States.
Industrial relations--United States.
Labor laws and legislation--United States.
CONTAINER LIST
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Siems, Frederick
|
1967-1980 |
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Kellwood
|
1978-1980 |
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Finance Department of ILGWU
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Chambers, Eva
|
1976 |
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Surek Casz
|
1976-1979 |
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Kellwood Union Contract [folder 1 of 2]
|
1971 |
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Kellwood Union Contract [folder 2 of 2]
|
1971 |
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Kellwood: Grievance Case Arbitration [folder 1 of 2]
|
1972-1973 |
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Kellwood: Grievance Case Arbitration [folder 2 of 2]
|
1972-1973 |
Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Kellwood: Grievance Hearing
|
1974 |
Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Kellwood: Grievances and Settlement [folder 1 of 2]
|
1973-1976 |
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Kellwood: Grievances and Settlement [folder 2 of 2]
|
1973-1976 |
Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Kellwood: Idabel, Oklahoma
|
1968-1973 |
Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Kellwood Corporation
|
1961-1973 |
Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Kellwood: Compliance Proceedings [folder 1 of 3]
|
1971 |
Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Kellwood: Compliance Proceedings [folder 2 of 3]
|
1971 |
Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Kellwood: Compliance Proceedings [folder 3 of 3]
|
1971 |
Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Newspaper Clippings
|
1968-1974 |
Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Retirement and Medical Plans
|
1966-1971 |
Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Kellwood: Little Rock and Tennessee
|
1970-1972 |
Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Kellwood: Little Rock
|
1967-1972 |
Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Kellwood: Distribution and Discharges
|
1972 |
Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Chambers, Eva: Organizer
|
1973 |
Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Honeyman, Steve
|
1966-1977 |
Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Interviews
|
1971-1974 |
Box 2 | Folder 8 |
ILGWU Elections
|
1965-1966 |
Box 2 | Folder 9 |
Leaflets: Lonoke, Arkansas
|
1971-1972 |
Box 2 | Folder 10 |
Leaflets: Byrd
|
1970 |
Box 2 | Folder 11 |
State v. Chambers, Eva
|
1967 |
Box 2 | Folder 12 |
State v. Ferguson, Lemmie
|
1967 |
Box 2 | Folder 13 |
Kellwood Company
|
1978 |
Box 2 | Folder 14 |
Survey of Kellwood Strikers
|
1976 |
Box 2 | Folder 15 |
Leaflets
|
1971-1978 |
Box 2 | Folder 16 |
Leaflets: Bogart
|
1969-1970 |
Box 2 | Folder 17 |
Leaflets: Spotlight
|
1966-1970 |
Box 2 | Folder 18 |
Leaflets: Munsingwear
|
1967-1968 |
Box 2 | Folder 19 |
Leaflets: Honey Togs
|
1967-1968 |
Box 2 | Folder 20 |
Leaflets: Genesco
|
1968 |
Box 2 | Folder 21 |
Leaflets: Nelly Don
|
1968 |
Box 2 | Folder 22 |
Leaflets: Manila
|
1966 |
Box 2 | Folder 23 |
Employer Leaflets
|
1965 |
Box 2 | Folder 24 |
Little Rock, Arkansas
|
1958-1960 |
Box 2 | Folder 25 |
Flashbacks: Book One
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 26 |
Genrty, Doris: Supervisor
|
1974 |
Box 2 | Folder 27 |
Plan B Project
|
1977 |
Box 2 | Folder 28 |
ILGWU vs. Ottenheimer
|
1976 |
Scope and Contents
July 22, 1976
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 29 |
Little Rock: Protest Parade [folder 1 of 2]
|
1967 |
Box 2 | Folder 30 |
Little Rock: Protest Parade [folder 2 of 2]
|
1967 |
Box 2 | Folder 31 |
Herman Marcus, Incorporated
|
1976 |
Box 2 | Folder 32 |
Little Rock: Union Leaflets [folder 1 of 2]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 3 | Folder 1 |
Little Rock: Union Leaflets [folder 2 of 2]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Ottenheimer Company Leaflets
|
1966 |
Box 3 | Folder 3 |
ILGWU: Court Cases, Leaflets, Newspaper Clippings
|
1967 |
Box 3 | Folder 4 |
Ottenheimer Company Leaflets
|
1965-1966 |
Box 3 | Folder 5 |
Little Rock: Leaflets
|
1965-1971 |
Box 3 | Folder 6 |
Union Leaflets and Newsletters
|
1965-1967 |
Box 3 | Folder 7 |
Striking and Decisions
|
1966-1973 |
Box 3 | Folder 8 |
Kellwood Strikers: Special Medical Relief
|
1972-1973 |
Box 3 | Folder 9 |
Strikers Health and Insurance Survey
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 10 |
Greenfield Manufacturing Company [folder 1 of 2]
|
1971 |
Box 3 | Folder 11 |
Greenfield Manufacturing Company [folder 2 of 2]
|
1971 |
Box 3 | Folder 12 |
Lonoke
|
1966-1972 |
Box 3 | Folder 13 |
Brownsville
|
1972-1973 |
Box 3 | Folder 14 |
Alamo [folder 1 of 2]
|
1967-1969 |
Box 3 | Folder 15 |
Alamo [folder 2 of 2]
|
1967-1969 |
Box 4 | Folder 1 |
Negotiating Exhibits
|
1966 |
Box 4 | Folder 2 |
Insurance and Police
|
1966-1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 3 |
Martin et al. v. Rockefeller, et al.
|
1967-1968 |
Box 4 | Folder 4 |
Geraldine Booth, v. Frederick Siems
|
1968-1970 |
Box 4 | Folder 5 |
State v. Hubman, Lillian
|
1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 6 |
State v. Baily, Paul (Scab)
|
1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 7 |
State v. Hobbs, Darnell
|
1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 8 |
State v. Wilson, David
|
1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 9 |
State v. Jackson, Jerry
|
1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 10 |
Negotiations [folder 1 of 2]
|
1966-1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 11 |
Negotiations [folder 2 of 2]
|
1966-1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 12 |
Kellwood Company, Ottenheimer Division and ILGWU, AFL-CIO
|
1966-1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 13 |
Kellwood: Respondent's Brief
|
1966 |
Box 4 | Folder 14 |
Interviews: Youngdahl and Martin, Eldora
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 15 |
Miscellaneous
|
1966-1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 16 |
Kellwood: Miscellaneous
|
1966-1976 |
Box 4 | Folder 17 |
ILGWU v. Kellwood: Little NLRB cases
|
1959-1970 |
Scope and Contents
Little Rock, Arkansas
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 18 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Negotiations
|
1965-1967 |
Box 4 | Folder 19 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer [folder 1 of 2]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 4 | Folder 20 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer [folder 2 of 2]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 5 | Folder 1 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Trial [folder 1 of 3]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 5 | Folder 2 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Trial [folder 2 of 3]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 5 | Folder 3 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Trial [folder 3 of 3]
|
1965-1966 |
Box 5 | Folder 4 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer
|
1966-1967 |
Box 5 | Folder 5 |
Ottenheimer: Refusal to Bargain Charges
|
1966-1968 |
Box 5 | Folder 6 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Strike and Negotiations [folder 1 of 3]
|
1966-1967 |
Box 5 | Folder 7 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Strike and Negotiations [folder 2 of 3]
|
1967-1968 |
Box 5 | Folder 8 |
ILGWU v. Ottenheimer: Strike and Negotiations [folder 3 of 3]
|
1966-1967 |
Box 5 | Folder 9 |
Ottenheimer Strike Injunction [folder 1 of 2]
|
1966-1967 |
Box 5 | Folder 10 |
Ottenheimer Strike Injunction [folder 2 of 2]
|
1966-1967 |
Box 5 | Folder 11 |
Sears Roebuck and Company v. Lambert
|
1966 |
Box 5 | Folder 12 |
Daley, Eloise F. v. Ottenheimer
|
1966 |
Box 5 | Folder 13 |
Past Strike Documents
|
1967-1968 |
Box 5 | Folder 14 |
ILGWU Court Briefs
|
1965-1978 |
Box 5 | Folder 15 |
Jackson, Jerry
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 16 |
Lavey, Jack
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 17 |
Clay, Glenn
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 18 |
Siems, Frederick
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 19 |
Lupo, Alice
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 20 |
Martin, Art
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 21 |
Glenn, Ida
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 22 |
Youngdahl, James
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 23 |
Perlstein, Jerry
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 24 |
Webster, Lew
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 25 |
Wilson, Jean
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 26 |
Jefferson, Bobby
|
1976 |
Box 5 | Folder 27 |
Burlison, Nellie
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 28 |
Cato, B.C.
|
1976 |
Box 5 | Folder 29 |
Roberts, Florence
|
|
Box 5 | Folder 30 |
Martin, Eldora
|
1976 |